UC-NRLF 


WASHINGTON  IN  DOMESTIC  LIFE 
From  Original  Letters  and  Manu 
scripts.  By  Richard  Rush. 


PHILADELPHIA:    j.  u.  LIPPINCOTT  AND  co. 
1857. 


t 


[COPYRIGHT    ENTERED    ACCORDING    TO    LAW.j 


GENTLEMEN  : — 

IN  confiding  to  your  house  the  publication  of 
this  brief  paper  on  some  points  in  the  character  of 
Washington,  I  beg  leave  to  say,  that  for  any  defi 
ciency  in  the  cost  of  publishing,  after  all  your 
charges  in  having  it  fitly  done  are  defrayed,  I  will 
be  responsible. 

And  in  the  very  remote  probability  of  the  sale 
of  a  production  so  limited  as  this,  in  the  face  of  a 
thousand  better  things  on  Washington's  character 
already  before  the  world,  ever  yielding  anything 
in  the  way  of  profit  after  your  proper  expendi 
tures  are  all  satisfied,  it  will  go,  however  small,  to 

M62469 


VI 


the  Washington  Monument  Fund,  existing  in  the 
metropolis  of  our  country. 
I  am,  gentlemen, 

Your  very  faithful 

And  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

SYDENHAM,  NEAR  PHILADELPHIA,  February  28,  1857. 


To  MESSRS. 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  AND  CO., 

PUBLISHERS, 

PHILADELPHIA. 


TO 


CHARLES   J.    INGERSOLL 


THIS  literary  trifle  is  hardly  worth  a  dedication ; 
yet  it  has  dared  to  touch,  though  with  incompetent 
hands,  a  high  subject,  and,  trifle  as  it  is,  I  dedi 
cate  it  to  you.  At  an  agreeable  little  dinner  at 
your  table  lately,  where  we  had  the  new  Vice-Pre- 
sident,  Mr.  Breckenridge,  whose  maternal  stock, 
the  Stanhope  Smiths  and  Witherspoons,  so  rich 
in  intellect,  we  knew  at  Princeton,  you  said  we 
had  been  friends  for  upwards  of  sixty  years.  You 
were  right,  for  we  were  merry  boys  together  in 


Vlll 

Philadelphia  before  our  college  days  at  Princeton ; 
and  I  may  here  add,  that  our  friendship  never  has 
been  interrupted. 

RICHARD  RUSH. 


INTRODUCTORY  EXPLANATION. 


THE  manuscript  or  paper  here  published  was 
prepared  from  a  collection  of  original  letters  from 
General  Washington  on  matters,  for  the  most 
part,  purely  domestic  and  personal,  addressed  to 
Colonel  Tobias  Lear,  his  private  Secretary  for 
a  part  of  the  time  he  was  President;  and  then, 
and  during  periods  much  longer,  his  confidential 
friend.  They  came  into  my  hands  through  the 
voluntary  kindness  of  Mrs.  Lear,  of  the  city  of 
Washington,  the  estimable  relict  of  Colonel  Lear, 
and  niece  of  Mrs.  Washington,  whose  friendship 
it  was  my  good  lot  and  that  of  my  family  to  en 
joy;  as  we  did  that  of  Colonel  Lear  while  he 
lived.  The  latter  died  in  Washington  in  1816. 
Mrs.  Lear  first  informed  me  of  these  letters  ten 


X         INTRODUCTORY  EXPLANATION. 

or  twelve  years  ago  when  in  Washington,  and 
offered  them  to  my  perusal  and  examination,  tell 
ing  me  to  take  them  home  and  retain  them  as 
long  as  I  chose,  and  use  them  as  I  thought  best, 
for  she  knew  I  would  not  abuse  this  privilege.  I 
brought  them  home  as  requested,  being  then  too 
much  engaged  in  the  business  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  as  one  of  the  Regents  on  its  iirst  or 
ganization,  to  examine  them  while  in  Washing 
ton.  She  afterwards  read,  approved,  and  for  some 
time  had  in  her  hands  the  paper  I  drew  up  from 
them. 

It  consisted  of  notices  of,  and  extracts  from 
these  original  letters,  the  matter  being  abridged, 
connecting  links  used,  and  omissions  made  where 
the  great  author  himself  marked  them  private 
or  from  parts  otherwise  not  necessary  to  go  be 
fore  the  world.  So  guarded  and  prepared,  and 
with  a  commentary  interwoven,  Mrs.  Lear  left  its 
publication  to  my  discretion.  I  returned  the  ori 
ginal  letters,  in  number  more  than  thirty,  in  the 
state  I  received  them  from  her.  I  never  allowed 


INTRODUCTORY   EXPLANATION.  XI 

any  one  of  them  to  be  copied ;  but  gave  one  away, 
or  two,  for  I  am  not  at  this  day  certain  which,  to 
Mr.  Polk  while  he  was  President  of  the  United 
States,  having  first  asked  and  obtained  Mrs.  Lear's 
consent  for  that  purpose.  She  also  gave  me  two 
of  them  not  very  long  before  her  decease,  which 
I  prize  the  more  as  her  gift.  I  have  other  ori 
ginal  letters  from  the  same  immortal  source,  the 
valued  donation  in  1830,  of  the  son  of  Colonel 
Lear,  Lincoln  Lear,  Esquire. 

This  excellent  lady,  who  long  honored  me  with 
her  friendship  and  confidence  in  the  above  and 
other  ways,  after  surviving  Colonel  Lear  forty 
years,  died  last  December  in  Washington.  There 
she  had  continued  to  live  as  his  widow ;  being  all 
this  time  in  possession  of,  and  as  I  supposed  own 
ing,  these  original  letters.  There  she  lived,  beloved 
as  a  pattern  of  the  Christian  virtues,  and  enjoying 
the  esteem  of  the  circle  around  her  as  an  interest 
ing  relict  of  days  becoming  historical;  but  ever  ele 
vating  in  the  associations  they  recall.  Now  that 
she  is  gone,  I  am  induced  to  give  to  the  public 


Xii  INTRODUCTORY   EXPLANATION. 

the  paper  in  question.  In  doing  so  I  have  the 
best  grounds  for  believing  that  I  perform  an  act 
that  would  have  been  grateful  to  her  were  she 
living.  She  was  fully  informed  of  my  intention 
to  publish  it  and  could  not  but  be  sensible  that 
the  long  respect  and  affectionate  attachment  of 
General  Washington  which  her  husband  enjoyed, 
as  so  indelibly  stamped  upon  these  letters,  is  a 
record  of  his  probity,  capacity,  and  sterling  worth, 
than  which  none  could  ever  be  more  precious,  or 
be  likely  to  endure  longer.  This  consideration  it 
might  be  thought  aifects  only  the  descendants  of 
Colonel  Lear  or  others  devoted  to  his  memory; 
but  I  have  ventured  to  think  that  the  publica 
tion  may  not  be  wholly  unacceptable  on  broader 
grounds.  Nothing,  indeed,  in  authentic  connection 
with  Washington's  great  name  can  ever  be  un 
welcome  to  the  American  people;  and  although 
it  may  have  happened  that  some  few  of  these  let 
ters  have  heretofore  found  their  way  into  print  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  number,  as  far  as  was  known 
to  Mrs.  Lear,  is  believed  to  be  very  small.  Hence 


INTRODUCTORY   EXPLANATION.  xiii 

the  publication  need  not  be  forborne  on  that  ac 
count;  more  especially  if  it  should  be  found  to 
carry  with  it  the  slightest  general  interest  in  the 
form  now  presented. 

In  regard  to  the  narrative  of  Arnold's  treason 
as  given  by  the  great  Chief  at  his  table  at  Mount 
Vernon  and  afterwards  written  down  by  Colonel' 
Lear,  which  I  have  appended  to  the  synopsis  of 
the  letters,  it  was  not  within  Mrs.  Lear's  know 
ledge,  nor  is  it  within  mine  at  present,  that  it  has 
ever  been  in  print  before. 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

SYDENHAM,  NEAR  PHILADELPHIA,  February,  1857. 


WASHINGTON 


IX 


DOMESTIC    LIFE 


WHEN  first  I  opened  and  cursorily  read  the 
original  letters  from  General  Washington,  men 
tioned  in  the  foregoing  introductory  explanation, 
and  noticed  the  domestic  topics  which  ran  so 
largely  through  them,  they  struck  me  as  pos 
sessing  peculiar  interest.  They  were  of  value  as 
coming  from  that  venerated  source,  and  doubly 
so,  considering  how  little  is  known,  through  his 
own  correspondence,  of  his  domestic  life ;  scarcely, 
in  fact,  any  of  its  details.  Heading  the  letters 
again,  I  found  the  matter  to  be  somewhat  more 
varied  than  my  first  eager  inspection  of  them,  as 


16  WASHINGTON 


hastily  unfolded,  had  led  me  to  suppose ;  but  they 
were  desultory,  and  much  broken  as  to  dates. 
The  occasional  mixture  of  other  matter,  especially 
public  matter,  with  the  domestic  topics,  did  not 
diminish  the  interest  of  the  letters,  but  the  con 
trary.  In  this  publication  I  follow  the  order  of 
the  dates.  Where  wide  chasms  occur,  I  have 
merely  supplied  a  link  in  the  chain  by  an  expla 
natory  remark  here  and  there,  in  aid  of  the  reader, 
not  hazarding  other  remarks  until  all  the  letters 
are  mentioned.  Thus  much  as  to  the  plan.  I 
proceed  to  speak  of  the  letters  themselves. 

The  first  in  date  is  of  the  fifth  of  September, 
1790.  It  is  written  in  Philadelphia,  where  Wash 
ington  had  just  then  arrived  from  New  York,  Mr. 
Lear,  as  may  be  inferred  from  it,  being  in  New 
York.  He  states  that  he  would  proceed  onward 
to  Mount  Vernon.  on  the  day  following  if  Mrs. 
Washington's  health  would  permit,  as  she  had 
been  indisposed  since  their  arrival  in  Philadel 
phia  ;  that  before  he  arrived,  the  city  corporation 
had  taken  the  house  of  Mr.  Robert  Morris  for  his 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  17 

residence,  but  that  it  would  not  be  sufficiently 
commodious  without  additions. 

[This  house  was  in  Market  Street  on  the 
south  side  near  Sixth  Street.  The  market 
house  buildings  then  stopped  at  Fourth 
Street;  the  town  in  this  street  extended 
westward  scarcely  as  far  as  Ninth  Street; 
good  private  dwellings  were  seen  above 
Fifth  Street;  Mr.  Morris's  was  perhaps 
the  best ;  the  garden  was  well  inclosed  by 
a  wall.] 

He  describes  the  house,  remarking  that  even  with 
the  proposed  additions  the  gentlemen  of  his  family 
would  have  to  go  into  the  third  story,  where  also 
Mr.  Lear  and  Mrs.  Lear  would  have  to  go ;  and 
that  there  would  be  no  place  for  his  own  study 
and  dressing-room  but  in  the  back  building; 
there  are  good  stables,  and  the  coach-house  would 
hold  his  carriages ;  but  his  coachmen  and  postil 
ions  would  have  to  sleep  over  the  stable  where 
there  was  no  fireplace,  though  the  room  might 


18  WASHINGTON 

be  warmed  by  a  stove.  The  other  servants  could 
sleep  in  the  house,  he  adds,  if,  in  addition  to 
the  present  accommodations,  a  servants'  hall  were 
built  with  one  or  two  lodging-rooms  over  it. 
These  are  samples  of  the  particularity  with  which 
he  writes.  He  tells  Mr.  Lear  that  he  had  left 
his  coach  and  harness  with  the  coachmaker,  Mr. 
Clarke,  in  Philadelphia,  for  repairs,  and  requests 
him  to  see  that  they  are  well  done  and  at  the  time 
appointed.  The  residue  of  the  letter  relates  to 
the  bringing  on  of  his  servants  from  New  York. 
It  begins  "  Dear  Sir,"  and  after  saying  that  Mrs. 
Washington  joins  with  him  in  best  wishes  to  Mrs. 
Lear,  concludes,  "  I  am  sincerely  and  affectionately 
yours,  Geo.  Washington."  The  letter  fills  the 
four  pages  of  a  sheet  of  letter  paper  in  his  com 
pact  but  bold  and  legible  hand,  with  a  few  inter 
lineations  made  very  distinctly. 

The  next  letter  is  dated  Mount  Vernon,  Sep 
tember  20,  1790.  After  saying  a  few  words  about 
Mr.  Morris's  house,  he  reverts  to  the  subject  of 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  19 

bringing  his  servants  from  New  York  to  Phila 
delphia,  naming  several  of  them,  but  doubting  the 
expediency  of  bringing  all  by  sea,  especially  the 
upper  servants.  The  steward  and  his  wife  are 
mentioned  as  perhaps  best  not  to  be  brought  at 
all;  he  has  no  wish  to  part  with  them:  first,  be 
cause  he  does  not  like  to  be  changing ;  and  second 
ly,  because  he  did  not  know  how  to  supply  their 
places,  but  was  much  mistaken  if  the  expenses  of 
the  second  table,  where  the  steward  presided,  had 
not  greatly  exceeded  the  proper  mark;  he  sus 
pected  there  was  nothing  brought  to  his  own  table 
of  liquors",  fruit,  or  other  things,  that  had  not  been 
used  as  profusely  at  the  steward's ;  that  if  his  sus 
picions  were  unfounded  he  should  be  sorry  for 
having  entertained  them ;  and  if  not,  it  was  at 
least  questionable  whether  any  successor  of  *  *  * 
*  *  *  might  not  do  the  same  thing,  in  which  case 
there  might  be  a  change  without  a  benefit.  He 
leaves  it  with  Mr.  Lear  whether  to  retain  him  or 
not,  provided  he  thought  him  honest,  of  which  he 
would  be  better  able  to  judge  on  comparing  his 


20  WASHINGTON 

accounts  with  those  of  his  former  steward,  which 
he  (the  General)  had  not  done.  He  concludes, 
"with  sincere  regard  and  affection,  I  am  yours, 
Geo.  Washington." 

[At  this  epoch,  the  seat  of  government  had 
just  been  removed  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia,  making  it  necessary  for  Ge 
neral  Washington  to  establish  himself  in 
the  latter  city,  which  leads  him  into  the 
details  given  and  to  follow.] 


The  third  letter  is  from  Mount  Vernon,  Sep 
tember  27,  1790.  It  begins  by  saying  that  since 
his  last,  the  date  of  which  is  not  recollected,  as  he 
kept  no  copies  of  these  letters,  two  had  been  re 
ceived  from  Mr.  Lear,  of  which  he  gives  the  dates. 
He  approves  of  his  mode  of  removing  the  furni 
ture,  and  asks,  "How  have  you  disposed  of  the 
Pagoda^  It  is  a  delicate  piece  of  stuff,  and  will 
require  to  be  handled  tenderly." 

Alluding  to  the  house  in  which  he  had  lived  in 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  21 

New  York,  the  lease  of  which  was  unexpired,  he 
says  that  he  expected  *  *  *  *  *  would  endeavor 
to  impose  his  own  terms  when  he  found  he  could 
not  get  it  off  his  hands ;  we  are  in  his  power  and 
he  must  do  what  he  pleases  with  us.  As  the 
"  Lustre"  is  paid  for  and  securely  packed  up,  and 
may  suit  the  largest  drawing-room  at  Mr.  Morris's 
house  in  Philadelphia,  he  does  not  incline  to  part 
with  it ;  there  is  a  mangle  in  the  kitchen,  which 
Mrs.  Morris  proposes  to  leave,  taking  his  mangle 
instead ;  [a  mangle  was  a  machine  for  washing  or 
pressing,  then  in  use,  and  a  fixture,  I  think;] 
he  would  not  object  provided  his  was  as  good, 
but  not  if  he  would  be  the  gainer  by  exchang 
ing.  He  concludes,  Mrs.  Washington  and  all 
the  family  joining  in  best  wishes  to  Mrs.  Lear 
and  himself,  "  I  am  your  sincere  friend  and  affec 
tionate  servant,"  signing  his  name  as  before. 

The  next  is  dated  Mount  Vernon,  October  3, 
1790.  In  this  letter  he  refers  to  the  declaration 
of  the  ministers  of  Britain  and  Spain  as  published 


22  WASHINGTON 

in  the  newspapers,*  and  requests  Mr.  Lear  to  give 
him  the  earliest  information  of  these  or  any  other 
interesting  matters,  beyond  what  the  newspapers 
say ;  remarking  that  Mr.  Jefferson's  absence  from 
New  York  [Mr.  Jefferson  was  then  Secretary  of 
State]  might  be  the  means  of  delaying  the  receipt 
of  official  advices  to  him  longer  than  usual.  He 
requests  Mr.  Lear  to  use  his  endeavors  for  ascer 
taining  the  best  schools  in  Philadelphia  with  a 
view  to  placing  Washington  Custis,  Mrs.  Wash 
ington's  grandson,  at  the  best.  If  the  college  is 
under  good  regulations,  and  they  have  proper 
tutors  to  prepare  boys  of  his  standing  for  the 
higher  branches  of  education,  he  makes  a  quaere 
if  it  would  not  be  better  to  put  him  there  at  once, 
the  presumption  being  that  a  system  may  prevail 
there  by  which  the  gradations  are  better  con 
nected  than  in  schools  which  have  no  correspond 
ence  with  each  other.  Adverting  again  to  his 


*  Alluding  probably  to  the  Nootka  Sound  controversy  then 
pending  between  these  courts. 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  23 

servants,  he  reminds  Mr.  Lear  that  no  mention 
had  been  made  of  John's  wife,  and  asks  what  he 
understands  to  be  her  plans.  He  incloses  a  letter 
from  John  to  her,  and  another  from  James  to  his 
"  del  Toboso."  [These  were  four  of  his  black 
servants.]  He  requests  him  when  able  to  get  at 
Count  d'Estaing's  letters  to  send  him  a  transcript 
of  what  he  says  of  a  bust  he  had  sent  him  of 
Neckar,  together  with  a  number  of  prints  of  Nec- 
kar,  and  of  the  Marquis  la  Fayette ;  and  concludes 
in  the  same  cordial  and  affectionate  style  as  before. 

Mount  Vernon,  October  10,  1790.  This  is  next 
in  date.  The  early  parts  of  this  letter  have  refer 
ence  to  the  steps  for  removing  his  furniture  and 
servants  from  New  York;  to  the  getting  rid  of 
the  house  still  upon  his  hands  there,  and  to  the 
proper  care  and  instruction  of  his  niece,  Miss  Har 
riet  Washington,  when  he  should  be  established 
in  Philadelphia.  Referring  again  to  Washington 
Custis's  education,  whom  he  had  adopted  as  a  son 
and  in  whom  he  appears  to  have  taken  great  in- 


24  WASHINGTON 

terest,*  he  wishes  inquiry  to  be  made  as  to  the 
higher  branches  taught  at  the  college  with  a  view 
to  placing  his  nephews,  George  and  Lawrence 
Washington,  at  that  Institution  in  Philadelphia. 
He  speaks  very  kindly  of  these  nephews,  and  of 
their  desire  for  improvement.  Having  left  the 
languages,  they  are  engaged,  he  adds,  under  Mr. 
Harrow,  in  Alexandria,  in  the  study  of  the  mathe 
matics  and  learning  French.  Concludes  as  usual. 

Next  comes  one  from  Mount  Vernon  of  Octo 
ber  27,  1790.  He  tells  Mr.  Lear  that  on  his 
return  from  a  twelve  days'  excursion  up  the  Poto 
mac,  he  finds  three  letters  from  him,  which  he 

*  The  affectionate  interest  General  Washington  took  in  this 
adopted  son  is  well  known.  Mr.  Custis  still  lives  (1856)  and 
still  dispenses  the  hospitalities  of  Arlington,  his  estate  and 
home  in  Virginia  near  the  city  of  Washington ;  which  it  over 
looks  from  its  beautiful  heights.  His  house  exhibits  paintings, 
illustrative  of  our  revolutionary  annals,  the  work  of  his  ama 
teur  pencil ;  whilst  the  productions  of  his  patriotic  pen  have 
charmed  the  public  by  the  anecdotes  they  record  in  attractive 
ways  of  the  personal,  rural,  and  other  habits  of  the  great  Chief. 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  25 

t 

acknowledges  under  their  dates,  and  is  very  glad 
to  learn  that  he  had  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  and 
that  the  servants  and  furniture  had  got  safely 
there.  It  is  equally  agreeable  to  him  that  the 
steward  and  his  wife  had  come.  He  leaves  to 
Mr.  L.  the  arrangement  of  the  furniture,  with  re 
marks  of  his  own  as  to  its  disposition  in  some  of 
the  rooms ;  and  wishes  the  rent  of  Mr.  Morris's 
house  to  be  fixed  before  the  day  of  his  going  into 
it.  He  desired  to  pay  a  just  value  ;  more  he  had 
no  idea  would  be  asked ;  but  intimates  his  fears 
that  the  committee  [of  the  city  councils  of  Phila 
delphia  is  probably  meant]  were  holding  back 
under  an  intention  that  the  rent  should  be  paid 
by  the  public,  to  which  he  would  not  consent.  It 
would  be  best,  he  thinks,  if  all  the  servants  could 
be  accommodated  without  using  the  loft  over  the 
stable,  as  no  orders  he  could  give  them  would  pre 
vent  their  carrying  lights  there,  if  they  were  to 
use  it  as  lodgers.  By  return  of  the  hand  that 
takes  this  and  other  letters  from  him  to  the  Alex 
andria  post-office,  he  hopes  to  receive  later  dates 

4 


26  WASHINGTON 

i 

from  Mr.  Lear,  and,  possibly,  something  more 
indicative  of  peace  or  war  between  Spain  and 
England ;  and  concludes,  "  I  am  your  affectionate 
friend,  Geo.  Washington." 

Mount  Vernon,  October  31,  1790,  is  the  next 
date.  After  expressing  concern  lest  his  house  in 
Philadelphia  should  not  be  ready  in  time,  and 
pointing  out  arrangements  for  his  journey  to 
Philadelphia,  he  speaks  again  of  his  carriage  at 
the  coachmaker's  in  Philadelphia.  He  thinks  that 
a  wreath  round  the  crests  on  the  panels  would 
be  more  correspondent  with  the  Seasons  [allego 
rical  paintings  probably  in  medallion],  which  were 
to  remain  there,  than  the  motto;  and  that  the 
motto  might  be  put  on  the  plates  of  the  harness, 
but  leaves  it  to  Mr.  Lear  and  the  coachmaker  to 
adopt  which  they  thought  best  when  the  whole 
was  looked  at,  as  he  could  not  himself  see  it  as 
a  whole.  He  speaks  of  the  boarding  schools  in 
Philadelphia,  and  is  anxious  that  full  and  careful 
inquiry  be  made  with  a  view  to  securing  proper 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  27 

advantages  in  the  education  of  his  niece,  but  to 
he  made  in  a  way  not  to  give  any  expectation 
of  a  preference  between  rival  seminaries,  as  he 
had  come  to  no  decision  in  regard  to  his  niece. 
As  his  family  on  removing  to  Philadelphia  will 
have  new  connections  to  form  with  tradespeople, 
he  requests  Mr.  Lear  to  find  out  those  in  each 
branch  who  stand  highest  for  skill  and  fair  deal 
ing,  saying  it  is  better  to  be  slow  in  choosing 
than  be  under  any  necessity  of  changing.  Con 
cludes  "  with  affectionate  regards  I  am  your  sin 
cere  friend,  G.  W." 

Mount  Vernon,  November  7,  1790.  A  letter 
full  of  minute  details.  It  sets  out  with  express 
ing  his  renewed  anxiety  respecting  the  education 
of  his  adopted  son  Washington  Custis,  remarking 
that  if  the  schools  in  the  college  are  under  good 
masters,  and  are  as  fit  for  boys  of  his  age  [he  was 
probably  about  eight  at  this  time,  for  we  were 
schoolmates  in  Philadelphia  at  the  dates  of  the 
earliest  of  these  letters]  as  a  private  school  would 


28  WASHINGTON 

be,  he  is  still  of  opinion  he  had  better  be  placed 
there  in  the  first  instance ;  but  the  propriety  of 
the  step  will  depend:  1.  Upon  the  character  and 
ability  of  the  masters  ;  2.  Upon  the  police  and  dis 
cipline  of  the  school ;  and  thirdly,  upon  the  num 
ber  of  the  pupils.  If  there  be  too  many  pupils, 
justice  cannot  be  done  to  them  whatever  the 
ability  of  the  masters,  adding  that  what  ought 
to  be  the  due  proportion  is  in  some  measure 
matter  of  opinion,  but  that  an  extreme  must  be 
obvious  to  all.  He  leaves  it  with  Mr.  Lear  to  de 
cide  that  point  if  nothing  else  should  be  finally 
resolved  upon  by  himself  before  he  reaches  Phila 
delphia.  He  next  incloses  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Gouverneur  Morris,  then  in  Paris  [but  not  our 
minister  at  the  French  court  at  that  time]  with 
the  bill  of  charges  for  certain  articles  which  he  had 
requested  him  to  send  from  Paris.  The  plated 
ware  far  exceeds  in  price  the  utmost  bounds 
of  his  calculation;  but  as  he  is  persuaded  Mr. 
Morris  had  only  done  what  he  thought  right,  he 
requests  Mr.  Lear  to  make  immediate  payment 


IX   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  29 

in  manner  as  he  points  out.  Among  the  articles 
of  this  plated  ware,  were  wine  coolers,  for  hold 
ing  four  decanters  of  cut  glass,  also  sent  by  Mr. 
Morris ;  and  he  seems  as  little  satisfied  with  the 
size  and  fashion  of  these  coolers,  from  the  descrip 
tion  he  has  received  of  them,  as  with  their  unex 
pected  cost.  He  thinks  more  appropriate  ones  of 
real  silver  might  he  made,  the  pattern  being  dif 
ferent  and  work  lighter,  giving  his  own  ideas  of  a 
pattern,  and  a  little  draft  of  it,  and  requesting  Mr. 
Lear  to  talk  to  a  silversmith  on  the  matter,  re 
marking  that  perhaps  those  sent  by  Mr.  Morris 
might  give  hints  for  the  pattern;  which,  if  not 
found  too  heavy,  as  he  had  not  yet  seen  them, 
might  after  all  answer.  He  approves  of  the 
Pagoda's  standing  in  the  smallest  drawing-room 
where  Mr.  Lear  had  placed  it.  Whether  the  green 
curtain  or  a  new  yellow  one  is  to  be  used  for  the 
staircase  window  in  the  hall,  may  depend  on  his 
getting  an  exact  match  in  color  for  the  former ;  in 
things  of  this  sort  one  would  not  regard  a  small 
additional  expense,  to  save  the  eye  from  bad  con- 


30  WASHINGTON 

trasts.  He  expresses  the  hope  that  his  study  will 
be  in  readiness  by  the  time  he  arrives,  and  that 
the  rubbish  and  other  litter  made  by  those  "  men 
of  mortar  and  the  carpenters,"  will  be  removed  so 
that  the  yard  may  be  made  and  kept  as  clean  as 
the  parlor.  This,  he  says,  is  essential,  as,  by  the 
alterations  made  in  the  house,  the  back  rooms  had 
become  the  best  and  there  was  an  uninterrupted 
view  from  them  into  the  yard,  especially  from  the 
dining-room.  He  concludes  by  saying  that  as 
Mrs.  Washington  writes  to  Mrs.  Lear,  he  would 
only  add  his  best  wishes  for  her  and  affectionate 
regards  for  himself,  "being  your  sincere  friend, 
G.  W." 

Mount  Vernon,  November  12,  1790.  This  let 
ter  is  a  duplicate  written  to  inform  Mr.  Lear  that 
lie  depended  upon  p  *  *  *  *  's  coach,  horses,  and 
driver,  for  taking  on  the  children  to  Philadelphia. 
His  reasons  for  writing  the  duplicate  was,  that 
Giles  (one  of  his  servants),  who  was  sent  on  Wed 
nesday  to  Alexandria  with  his  first  letter  with 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  31 

directions  that  if  the  stage  had  gone  to  pursue  it 
to  Georgetown  so  as  to  overtake  the  mail,  had  put 
the  letter  into  the  hands  of  a  passenger,  who  "  all 
but  forced  it  from  him,"  so  anxious  was  this  pas 
senger  to  do  an  obliging  thing,  as  he  "  knew  Gene 
ral  Washington."  This  passenger  told  his  name, 
but  it  was  "  so  comical,"  he  could  not  recollect  it. 
This  was  Giles's  story ;  and  the  General  adds  that 
as  he  knew  what  little  dependence  was  to  be 
placed  on  the  punctual  conveyance  of  letters  by  a 
private  hand,  he  writes  this  duplicate  by  post  to 
repeat  his  request  that  Mr.  Lear  will  inform  him, 
by  return  of  post,  what  he  has  to  expect  with  cer 
tainty  as  to  the  coach  hired  for  taking  on  a  part  of 
his  family  to  Philadelphia.  His  house  is  full  of 
company,  he  adds,  and  concludes  as  usual. 

Mount  Vemon,  November  14,  1790.  This  let 
ter  manifests  his  concern  about  the  house  in  Phila 
delphia  ;  for,  besides  that  it  is  still  unfinished,  the 
rent,  he  says,  has  not  yet  been  fixed,  though  he 
has  long  since  wished  it ;  he  is  at  a  loss  to  under- 


32  WASHINGTON 

stand  it  all.  He  hopes  that  the  additions  and 
alterations  made  on  his  account  whilst  neat,  have 
not  been  in  an  extravagant  style.  The  latter 
would  not  only  he  contrary  to  his  wishes  but  re 
pugnant  to  his  interest  and  convenience,  as  it 
would  be  the  means  of  keeping  him  from  the  use 
and  comforts  of  the  house  until  a  later  day;  and 
because  the  furniture  and  everything  else  must 
then  be  in  accordance  with  its  expensive  finish, 
which  would  not  agree  with  his  present  furniture, 
and  he  had  no  wish  to  be  taxed  to  suit  the  taste  of 
others.  The  letter  is  of  more  length  than  usual 
and  marked  "private;"  being,  with  one  other,  the 
only  ones  in  the  collection  so  marked.  I  will, 
therefore,  notice  its  contents  no  further  than  barely 
to  add,  that  in  a  part  where  he  alludes  to  the  still 
possible  intention  of  making  the  public  in  Phila 
delphia  pay  his  rent,  his  terms  of  dissent  become 
very  emphatic.  In  reference  to  his  coach,  he 
would  rather  have  heard  that,  as  repaired,  it 
was  "plain  and  elegant"  than  "  rich  and  elegant." 
Conclusion  as  usual. 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  33 

Mpunt  Vemon,  Nov.  17,  1790.  This,  he  says, 
is  a  very  bad  day.  He  is  just  setting  off  for  Alex 
andria  to  a  dinner  given  to  him  by  the  citizens  of 
that  place.  The  caps  (jockey  caps)  of  Giles  and 
Paris  (two  of  his  postilions)  being  so  much  worn 
that  they  will  be  unfit  for  use  by  the  time  he  has 
completed  his  journey  to  Philadelphia,  he  requests 
that  new  ones  may  be  made,  the  tassels  to  be  of 
better  quality  than  the  old  ones ;  and  that  a  new 
set  of  harness  may  be  made  for  the  leaders,  with  a 
postilion  saddle ;  the  saddle-cloth  of  which  to  be 
like  the  hammer-cloth,  that  all  may  be  of  a  piece 
when  necessary  to  use  six  horses.  [This  he  some 
times  did  in  travelling.]  The  letter  concludes  as 
usual. 

"Spurriers,"  November  23,  1790. 

[He  is  now  on  his  journey  to   Philadelphia 
in  his   own  travelling  carnage  with  Mrs. 

Washington;  the  children,  and  the  servants 

0 
in  attendance  on  the  children,  being  in  the 

stage-coach  hired  for  the  occasion.] 


34:  WASHINGTON 

He  dates  from  this  tavern  twelve  or  fourteen  miles 
south  of  Baltimore.  The  roads,  he  says,  are  in 
famous — no  hope  of  reaching  Baltimore  that  night, 
as  they  had  not  yet  gone  to  dinner  but  were  wait 
ing  for  it.  The  letter  is  only  of  a  few  lines,  and 
evidently  written  in  haste,  though  he  never  makes 
apologies  on  that  account. 

Georgetown,  March  28,  1791. 

[The  General  and  family  arrived  in  Philadel 
phia  and  took  possession  of  Mr.  Morris's 
house.  The  session  of  Congress  passed 
over.  It  was  the  short  session.  He  was 
now  on  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon,  hav 
ing  reached  the  above  town  on  the  Mary 
land  side  of  the  Potomac,  from  which  he 
dates.] 

This  letter  is  on  his  private  affairs.  He  expresses 
dissatisfaction  at  the  conduct  of  ******  One 

of  his  agents  in  the  State  of ,  in  letting  out 

his  property  and  receiving  his  rents ;  he  is  too  well 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  35 

acquainted,  he  says,  with  facts  that  bear  upon  the 
case  to  be  imposed  upon  by  the  tale  he  tells ;  and 
even  his  own  letter  proves  him  to  be  what  he 
would  not  call  him. 

Mount  Vernon,  April  3,  1791.  This  letter  is 
also  in  part  on  his  private  affairs.  It  contains 
further  complaints  of  this  agent.  In  the  closing 
parts  of  it  [there  being  at  this  time  growing 
apprehensions  of  trouble  with  the.  Indians]  he 
makes  the  remark,  that  until  we  could  restrain 
the  turbulence  and  disorderly  conduct  of  our  own 
borderers,  it  would  be  in  vain  he  feared  to  expect 
peace  with  the  Indians ;  or  that  they  would  govern 
their  own  people  better  than  we  did  ours. 

[It  was  in  the  following  autumn  that  General 
St.  Glair's  army  was  defeated  by  them  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Miami  Villages.] 

Mount  Vernon,  April  6,  1791.  A  short  letter. 
It  mentions  his  intention  of  continuing  his  journey 


36  WASHINGTON 

southward  the  next  day ;  his  horses  being  well  re 
cruited,  he  hopes  they  will  go  on  better  than  they 
have  come  from  Philadelphia.  He  incloses  Mr. 
Lear,  who  remains  in  Philadelphia,  some  letters  to 
be  put  on  file,  and  requests  him  to  pay  a  man  who 
had  been  working  in  the  garden. 

[The  journey  southward  next  day  was  the 
commencement  of  his  tour  to  the  Southern 
States,  having  made  one  into  the  Northern 
States  before  he  became  President.  Hav 
ing  completed  his  tour,  he  passed  several 
days  in  Georgetown  to  execute  the  powers 
vested  in  him  for  fixing  on  a  place  for 
the  permanent  seat  of  government  for  the 
United  States  under  the  new  constitution.] 

Richmond,  April  12,  1791.  This  is  a  letter  of 
four  closely  written  pages,  mainly,  though  not  ex 
clusively,  about  his  servants  and  the  difficulties 
with  them  under  the  n  on -slavery  laws  of  Phila 
delphia;  but  as  he  requests  that  the  knowledge  of 


IN   DOMESTIC  LIFE.  37 

its  contents  and  the  sentiments  he  expresses  may 
be  confined  to  Mrs.  Lear  and  Mrs.  Washington,  I 
notice  no  more  of  it. 

Savannah,  May  13,  1791.  He  here  says  that 
the  continual  hurry  into  which  he  was  thrown  by 
entertainments,  visits,  and  ceremonies  in  the  course 
of  his  southern  tour,  left  him  scarcely  a  moment 
he  could  call  his  own.  He  gives  directions  as  to 
where  his  letters  are  to  be  sent  that  they  may 
strike  him  at  the  proper  points  whilst  travelling ; 
his  horses  are  much  worn  down,  he  says,  by  the 
bad  roads,  especially  the  two  he  bought  just  before 
leaving  Philadelphia,  "  and  my  old  white  horse." 

Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  June  12,  1791.  He 
informs  Mr.  Lear  that  he  had  reached  this  place 
the  day  preceding,  and  expected  to  get  back  to 
Mount  Vernon  the  day  following.  He  would 
remain  there  until  the  27th,  which  was  the  day 
appointed  for  him  to  meet  the  commissioners  at 
Georgetown  to  fix  on  the  spot  for  the  public 


38  WASHINGTON 

buildings  to  be  erected  in  the  new  Federal  City, 
and  writes  to  give  Mr.  Lear  this  foreknowledge  of 
his  movements. 

Mount  Vernon,  June  15,  1791.  The  early  part 
of  this  letter  relates  to  certain  blank  commissions 
signed  and  left  with  Mr.  Lear  to  be  filled  up  under 
the  direction  and  advice  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  He  next  adverts  to  a  vacancy  in  one  of 
the  United  States  judgeships — that  of  the  district 
of  Pennsylvania — by  the  death  of  the  late  incum 
bent.  Some  have  applied,  he  says,  for  the  appoint 
ment,  and  others  will.  In  reference  to  this  and 
other  offices  that  will  be  vacant  (naming  them),  he 
wishes  Mr.  Lear  to  get  the  best  information  he 
can  as  to  those  who  it  is  thought  would  fill  them 
"  with  the  greatest  ability  and  integrity."  Several 
meritorious  persons,  he  adds,  have  already  been 
brought  to  his  view. 

He  is  glad  to  hear  that  the  affairs  of  his  house 
hold  in  Philadelphia  go  on  so  well,  and  tells  Mr. 
Lear  it  might  not  be  improper  for  him  to  hint  how 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  39 

foolish  it  would  be  in  the  servants  left  there  to 
enter  into  any  combinations  for  supplanting  those 
in  authority  [meaning  the  upper  servants].  The 
attempt  would  be  futile,  and  must  recoil  upon 
themselves;  and  next,  admitting  that  they  were 
to  make  the  lives  of  the  present  steward  and 
housekeeper  so  uneasy  as  to  induce  them  to  quit, 
others  would  be  got,  and  such,  too,  as  would  be 
equally  if  not  more  rigid  in  exacting  the  duty  re 
quired  of  the  servants  below  them  ;  the  steward 
and  housekeeper  were  indispensably  necessary  in 
taking  trouble  off  of  Mrs.  Washington's  hands  and 
his  own,  and  would  be  supported  in  the  line  of 
their  duty,  whilst  any  attempt  to  counteract  them 
would  be  considered  as  the  strongest  evidence  the 
other  servants  could  give  of  their  unworthiness.  A 
good  and  faithful  servant,  he  adds,  was  never  afraid 
of  having  his  conduct  looked  into,  but  the  reverse. 

Mount  Vernon,  June  19,  1791.  He  acknow 
ledges  the  receipt  of  several  letters  from  Mr.  Lear, 
and  approves  what  he  has  done.  He  tells  him 


40  WASHINGTON 

that  in  the  fall  he  shall  want  blankets  for  his  ser 
vants  and  people*  at  Mount  Vernon ;  and  the 
summer  being  the  best  time  for  buying  them,  he 
wishes  inquiry  to  be  made  on  this  subject,  saying 
he  should  want  about  two  hundred.  He  wants  to 
see  Paine's  answer  to  Burke's  pamphlet  on  the 
French  Revolution,  and  requests  it  may  be  sent  to 
him.  He  says  that  "  Paris"  has  grown  to  be  so 
lazy  and  self-willed  that  John,  the  coachman,  says 
he  has  no  sort  of  government  of  him,  as  he  did 
nothing  that  he  was  told  to  do,  and  everything  he 
was  not.  The  General  adds  that  his  incapacity  as 
a  postilion  was  such  that  he  had  determined  to 
leave  him  behind  when  returning  to  Philadelphia, 
which  would  make  one  or  two  boys  necessary  in 
his  stable  at  that  place,  as  assistants,  and  asks 
whether  it  might  not  be  possible  to  find  emigrant 
Germans  to  answer  the  purpose.  He  concludes, 
"  Be  assured  of  the  esteem  and  regard  of  yours 
affectionately,  G.  W." 

*  The  latter  mean  his  slaves. 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  41 

Mount  Vernon,  September  26,  1791.  He  refers 
to  the  house  in  Philadelphia ;  says  that  he  never 
expressed  any  dissatisfaction  at  want  of  accommo 
dation  in  it  since  he  ^ot  rid  of  the  workmen ;  and 

O  7 

that  that  supposition  must  not  be  adduced  as  a 
motive  for  causing  a  public  edifice  to  be  built  for 
his  use  or  occupancy ;  that  he  has  no  intention  of 
interfering  with  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania,  or 
the  household  accommodations  of  his  successors  in 
the  Presidency ;  but  that,  for  himself,  personally, 
he  had  wholly  declined  living  in  any  public  build 
ing.  This  subject  appears  to  have  engaged  some 
of  his  sensibility,  and  he  tells  Mr.  Lear  he  is  glad 
to  learn  he  has  put  in  writing  his  views  in  regard 
to  it,  as  that  will  protect  him  against  misconcep 
tion  on  any  point. 

Mount  Vernon,  October  7,  1791.  He  writes 
again  about  the  blankets ;  some  have  been  offered 
to  him  in  Alexandria,  but  he  likes  neither  the  size 
nor  price,  and  speaks  of  those  to  be  had  in  Phila 
delphia  as  intolerably  narrow.  He  cannot  think 

6 


42  WASHINGTON 

of  being  disappointed  in  his  supply,  as  his  people 
would  suffer  in  the  ensuing  winter.  He  wants 
one  hundred  of  the  largest  size  and  best  quality, 
and  one  hundred  of  the  middle  size  but  good  in 
quality.  I  recollect  asking  you  if  among  my 
pamphlets  you  had  seen  the  journal  of  my  tour 
to  the  French  (the  word  position  was  probably 
omitted  here)  on  La  bcauf  in  the  year  1753.  I 
understood  you  no ;  but  Mrs.  Washington  thinks 
you  said  yes.  Pray  decide  the  point  for  us — I 
have  searched  in  vain  for  it  here. 

Mount  Vernon,  October  14,  1791.  In  this  let 
ter  he  begins  by  saying  he  is  glad  of  the  intima 
tion  given  of  the  intentions  of  the  minister  of 
France  [not  stated  what  they  are],  and  pleased 
though  distressed  at  the  information  that  the  24th 
instant  is  the  day  for  the  meeting  of  Congress. 
He  had  supposed  it  to  be  the  31st,  and  intended 
to  spend  Monday  and  possibly  Tuesday  in  George 
town  ;  but  now  he  would  endeavor  to  reach  Bla- 
densburg  on  Monday  night  and  lose  no  time 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  43 

afterwards  in  pursuing  his  journey  onward  to 
Philadelphia,  as  scarce  any  time  would  be  left  to 
him  for  preparing  his  communications  when  the 
session  opened,  if  the  members  were  punctual  in 
attending.  This  makes  it  the  more  necessary,  he 
says,  that  Mr.  Lear  should  look  with  accuracy, 
and  without  delay,  into  his  speeches  and  the  laws 
of  the  past  sessions;  that  all  might  be  at  hand 
for  his  own  review  and  consideration. '  And  he 
requests  Mr.  Lear,  should  anything  else  have  oc 
curred  to  him  as  fit  for  recommendation  or  commu 
nication  in  his  speech  to  Congress,  to  note  it,  that 
it  might  be  ready  for  his  consideration  in  case  it 
should  not  be  among  his  own  memorandums.  The 
conclusion  is  in  his  usually  cordial  way. 

This  session  of  Congress  passed  over.  It  was 
the  long  one,  and  ran  into  May  1792.  I  find  in 
the  collection  only  three  letters  to  Mr.  Lear  dated 
in  that  year.  The  first  is  from  Mount  Vernon, 
July  30,  '92,  soon  after  he  had  left  Philadelphia, 
and  is  familiarly  descriptive  of  his  journey  home- 


44  WASHINGTON 

wards.  His  horses  plagued  him  a  good  deal,  he 
says,  and  the  sick  mare,  owing  to  a  dose  of  physic 
administered  the  night  he  reached  Chester,  was  so 
much  weakened  as  to  be  unable  to  carry  Austin 
[one  of  the  postilions]  further  than  the  Susque- 
hannah ;  had  to  be  led  thence  to  Hartford,  where 
she  was  left,  and  two  days  afterwards,  "gave  up 
the  ghost."  As  he  travelled  on,  he  heard  great 
complaints  of  the  Hessian  fly,  and  of  rust  or  mil 
dew  in  the  wheat,  and  believed  that  the  damage 
would  be  great  in  some  places ;  but  that  more  was 
said  than  the  case  warranted,  and  on  the  whole 
the  crops  would  be  abundant.  On  arriving  in 
Georgetown,  he  found  many  well-conceived  plans 
for  the  public  buildings  in  the  new  city,  and  re 
marks  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  him  to  find  in 
our  new  country  so  much  architectural  ability 
displayed.  Concludes,  "  I  am  your  affectionate 
friend,  G.  W." 

The  second  is  dated  Mount  Vemon,  September 
21,  '92.     He  tells  Mr.  Lear  that  he  had  written 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  45 

him  but  one  letter  since  arriving  at  Mount  Ver- 
non,  but  was  on  the  eve  of  writing  a  second  when 
his  of  the  5th  of  August  got  to  hand,  with  such 
information  of  his  movements  (Mr.  Lear  having 
been  away  from  Philadelphia)  as  might  now  enable 
him  to  direct  a  letter  to  him  without  danger  of 
its  "  reverberating  back."  He  thanks  him  for  the 
information  afforded  in  his  letter  of  the  5th  of 
August  and  in  another  of  the  21st  of  July;  says 
he  has  nothing  agreeable  of  a  domestic  nature  to 
relate.  Poor  George  [the  General  is  here  sup 
posed  to  allude  to  Mr.  George  Lewis,  one  of  his 
nephews,  then  staying  at  Mount  Vernon],  he  fears, 
is  not  far  from  that  place  whence  no  traveller  re 
turns  ;  he  is  but  the  shadow  of  what  he  was ;  has 
not  been  out  of  his  room,  scarcely  out  of  his  bed, 
for  six  weeks ;  has  intervals  of  ease  which  flatter 
us  a  little,  but  he,  the  General,  has  little  hope  of 
his  surviving  the  winter.  It  is  so  he  writes  of 
this  nephew,  adding  that  the  subject  gives  him 
much  distress.  Concludes,  "  with  sincere  and  af 
fectionate  regard  I  am  always  your  friend,  G.  W." 


46  WASHINGTON 

The  third  is  dated  Mount  Vernon,  October  1, 
'92.  In  the  expectation  that  this  letter  will  find 
Mr.  Lear  again  in  Philadelphia,  he  wishes  him  to 
begin  in  time  to  compare  all  his  former  speeches 
to  Congress  with  the  subsequent  acts  of  that  body 
that  he  might  see  what  parts  of  them  passed 
altogether  unnoticed  or  had  been  only  partially 
noticed,  that  thus  he  might  be  enabled  to  judge 
whether  any  and  what  parts  should  be  brought 
forward  again.  He  requests  him  also,  as  before, 
to  note  everything  that  may  occur  to  him  as  fit 
to  be  noticed  in  his  communication  to  Congress 
this  year,  as  he  desires  to  have  all  the  materials 
collected  for  his  consideration  in  preparing  his 
speech.  He  speaks  again  of  the  illness  of  "  poor 
George,"  and  says  that  others  of  his  family  are 
unwell.  Concludes  in  his  usually  kind  and  affec 
tion  manner. 

[This  session  of  Congress — the  short  session — 
came  to  its  regular  close  on  the  3d  of  March, 
1793.]  The  General  is  again  at  Mount  Vernon 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  47 

in  April,  and  writes  to  Mr.  Lear  on  the  8th  of 
that  month  on  some  of  his  private  affairs.  He 
tells  him  that  his  letter  of  the  3d  had  been  re 
ceived  transmitting  Mr.  ******  >s  rental,  and 
Mr.  *  *  *  *  *  's  profession  of  his  inability  to  dis 
charge  his  bond.  The  latter  he  thinks  more  can- 

o 

did  than  the  former,  but  supposes  that  he  must  be 
satisfied  with  both,  knowing  he  will  never  get 
better  terms  from  either.  He  intimates  that  be 
fore  doing  anything  with  respect  to  the  lands  the 
latter  had  from  him,  he  wishes  Mr.  Lear  to  have 
some  conversation  with  *  *  *  *  on  a  point  he 
(the  General)  did  not  clearly  understand,  as  he 
would  not  "put  it  in  the  power  of  malice  itself 
to  charge  him  with  any  agency  in  measures  that 
could  be  tortured  into  impropriety  in  this  matter." 
In  regard  to  the  former  person  [the  same  men 
tioned  in  his  letters  of  March  28  and  April  3,  '91, 
as  having  the  charge  of  some  of  his  property],  he 
requests  Mr.  Lear  to  endeavor  to  find  out  through 
members  of  Congress,  if  he  can,  the  name  of 
some  individual  in  the  State  in  question  who 


48  WASHINGTON 

would  be  likely  to  make  him  a  faithful  agent,  as 
it  would  not  do  to  leave  his  concerns  in  the  hands 
of  *****  any  longer ;  he  was  too  dependent, 
he  feared  (besides  other  objections  to  him),  for 
his  election  to  the  legislature  to  fix  his  rents  at  a 
just  medium,  or  collect  them  in  the  manner  he 
ought  to  do.  The  conclusion  of  this  letter  has 
reference  to  the  will  of  his  deceased  nephew,  Mr. 
George  Lewis,  who  had  died  at  Mount  Vernon. 

Mr.  Lear  had  now  ceased  to  be  his  private 
Secretary;  but  the  most  intimate  correspondence 
was  still  kept  up  with  him.  On  the  21st  of  June, 
1793,  there  is  a  letter  to  him  from  Philadelphia 
[Mr.  L.  then  being  in  Georgetown],  which  the 
General  writes  on  purpose  to  say  that  he  con 
siders  it  a  very  kind  and  friendly  act  in  him  to  go 
to  Mount  Vernon.  The  letter  finishes  with  a  few 
lines  of  allusion  to  his  private  aifairs. 

Philadelphia,  May  6,  1794.  This  is  a  letter 
written  to  Mr.  Lear  when  the  latter  was  in  Eng- 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  49 

land.  It  treats  of  private  matters,  and  expresses 
his  pleasure  at  the  reception  he  had  from  the  Earl 
of  Buchan,  Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  others  in  Eng 
land  to  whom  General  Washington  had  given  him 
letters.  He  tells  him  he  was  much  obliged  to 
him  for  the  several  communications  in  his  letters, 
and  placed  great  reliance  on  them ;  that  the  op 
portunities  he  derived  from  mixing  with  people 
in  different  walks,  high  and  low,  and  of  different 
political  sentiments,  must  have  afforded  him  an 
extensive  range  for  observation  and  comparison ; 
more  so  by  far  than  could  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  sta 
tionary  person  always  revolving  in  a  particular 
circle.  The  General  then  touches  on  our  home 
affairs.  [He  was  still  President,  it  will  be  remem 
bered.]  He  says  that  to  tell  him  the  British  order 
in  council  of  the  8th  of  June  last  respecting  neu 
tral  vessels  had  given  much  discontent  in  the 
United  States ;  and  that  that  of  the  6th  of  No 
vember  had  thrown  the  people  into  a  flame,  could 
hardly  be  new  to  him.  In  reference  to  all  the 
existing  difficulties  with  England  he  tells  him 


50  WASHINGTON 

that  many  measures  had  been  moved  in  Congress, 
some  of  which  had  passed  into  acts,  and  others 
were  pending ;  that  among  the  former  was  a  law 
for  fortifying  our  principal  seaports,  and  another 
for  raising  an  additional  corps  of  eight  hundred 
artillery-men  for  the  defence  of  them  and  other 
purposes;  and  that  the  bills  pending  were:  1st. 
One  to  complete  our  present  military  establish 
ment;  2d.  One  to  raise  an  army  of  twenty-five 
thousand  men  in  addition  to  it ;  and  3d.  A  bill  to 
organize,  put  in  training,  and  hold  in  readiness  at 
a  minute's  warning  a  select  corps  of  eighty  thou 
sand  militia.  He  seemed  to  think  that  the  first 
and  last  would  pass,  but  that  the  result  of  the 
second  could  not  be  so  well  predicted.  He  men 
tions  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Jay  as  special 
minister  to  England  in  the  hope  of  settling  all 
our  difficulties  in  a  temperate  way  by  fair  and 
firm  negotiation,  and  that  he  would  sail  in  a  few 
days,  with  Mr.  John  Trumbell  as  his  private 
Secretary ;  tells  him  also  of  Mr.  Randolph's  ap- 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  51 

pointment  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  that  Mr. 
Bradford,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  made  Attorney 
General  in  Mr.  Randolph's  place.  In  conclusion, 
he  alludes  to  "  little  Lincoln"  [Mr.  Lear's  son]  and 
his  " lottery  tickets,"  which,  "poor  little  fellow!" 
he  exclaims,  will  never  be  likely  to  build  him  a 
baby-house  even ;  the  whole  Washington  lottery 
business  having  turned  out  a  bed  of  thorns  rather 
than  roses.  He  terminates  the  letter  by  telling 
him  that  his  public  avocations  will  not  admit  of 
more  than  a  flying  trip  to  Mount  Vernon  this 
summer,  and  that  this  not  suiting  Mrs.  Washing 
ton  he  has  taken  a  house  in  Germantown  [the 
vicinity  of  Philadelphia]  to  avoid  the  heat  of 
Philadelphia  in  July  and  August,  and  that  Mrs. 
Washington,  Nelly  [one  of  the  Miss  Custis's],  and 
the  rest  of  the  family  united  with  him  in  every 
good  wish  for  his  health,  prosperity,  and  safe  re 
turn  ;  and  he  begs  him  to  be  "  assured  of  the 
sincerity  with  which  he  was  and  always  should  be 
his  affectionate  friend,  G.  W." 


52  WASHINGTON 

Mount  Vcrnon,  August  5,  1795.  Mr.  Lear 
had  got  back  from  England  and  was  now  residing 
in  Georgetown  or  its  neighborhood.  The  present 
letter  incloses  him  a  power  of  attorney  to  vote  on 
the  General's  shares  in  the  Potomac  Company  at  a 
meeting  of  its  stockholders  to  be  held  on  the  day 
following,  in  Georgetown.  He  says  he  would  be 
there  himself  to  vote  in  person  if  possible;  but 
that  having  sent  to  the  post-office  in  Alexandria 
every  day  since  Friday  for  letters  without  receiv 
ing  any  from  any  of  the  officers  of  the  govern 
ment,  he  might  probably  receive  a  great  accumu 
lation  of  them  on  the  day  following  [which  was 
again  Friday,  and  a  post  day],  to  which  he  would 
have  to  give  his  attention  and  prepare  answers. 
It  was  therefore  that  he  sent  the  power  of  attor 
ney  to  meet  the  contingency  of  his  not  being  pre 
sent.  This  power  of  attorney  was  in  his  own 
handwriting. 

Philadelphia,  March  13,  1796.  There  are  brief 
letters  since  the  above  that  touch  on  private  busi- 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  53 

ness.  In  this  of  the  13th  of  March,  1796,  allud 
ing  to  his  pecuniary  affairs,  he  says,  that  for  the 
few  years  he  has  to  remain  here,  the  enjoyment  of 
less,  with  more  ease  and  certainty,  will  be  more 
convenient  to  him,  and  more  desirable;  had  his 
resources  been  adequate  to  it,  he  would  have  pur 
chased  the  lot  and  houses  in  Alexandria  which 
Mr.  Lear  pointed  out;  but  that  as  his  resources 
depended  on  contingencies  that  might  baffle  his 
calculations,  he  chose  to  tread  on  sure  ground  in 
all  his  engagements,  being  as  unwilling  to  embar 
rass  others  by  uncertain  contracts  as  to  be  de 
ceived  himself  in  his  expectations. 

Philadelphia,  April  29,  1796.  This  is  one  of  a 
few  lines  in  which  he  requests  Mr.  Lear's  accept 
ance  of  some  garden  seeds  for  his  garden  and 
farm.  They  were  portions  of  some  sent  to  him 
from  England  to  be  planted  at  Mount  Vernon. 

Philadelphia,  November  16,  1796.  This  re 
lates  to  the  sale  of  some  of  his  agricultural  pro- 


54  WASHINGTON 

duce,  and  to  the  disappointments  he  had  experi 
enced  in  payments  promised  to  him. 

Mount  Vernon,  March  25,  1797.  The  General 
is  now  relieved  from  all  public  duties  and  cares. 
On  the  3d  of  March  of  this  year  he  ceased  to  be 
President  by  voluntarily  retiring  from  the  post 
after  writing  that  farewell  address  which  a  British 
historian*  has  pronounced  unequalled  by  any  com 
position  of  uninspired  wisdom.  He  is  now  a  pri 
vate  citizen  returned  to  his  country  estate  at  Mount 
Vernon  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  Mr.  Lear  is 
in  Georgetown.  In  this  letter  to  him  of  the  25th 
of  March  '97,  he  speaks  of  plans  for  repairing  and 
refitting  his  ancient  and  loved  home;  but  adds 
that  in  that  rural  vicinity  he  finds  difficulty  in 
getting  proper  workmen,  and  requests  Mr.  Lear's 
aid  in  procuring  some  from  Georgetown,  or  the 
new  "  Federal  City,"  [as  Washington  at  that  day 
was  usually  called.]  Skill  and  dispatch  would  be 

*  Alison. 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  55 

necessary  qualifications,  and  he  thinks  that  his 
"Old  Sergeant  Cornelius"  might  do  for  one  of  the 
workmen.  It  seems  that  this  person  had  been 
heard  of  in  those  parts,  and  he  adds  that  he 
would  give  him  the  preference  as  knowing  his 
temper  and  industry. 

Not  long,  however,  is  he  permitted  to  remain  a 
private  citizen  reposing  at  Mount  Vernon  amidst 
all  its  endearments.  The  next  succeeding  year 
finds  him  again  summoned  by  his  country  to  her 
service.  At  the  eager  solicitation  of  the  govern 
ment,  the  elder  Adams  then  being  President,  and 
Mr.  Adams'  own  desire  being  seconded  by  the 
nation's  voice,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept 
the  supreme  command  of  the  Army  during  the 
difficulties  and  even  quasi-war  that  had  risen  up 
with  our  old  ally,  France.  He  accepted  on  con 
dition  of  receiving  no  pay  or  emolument  until 
actually  called  into  the  field.  Nevertheless  this 
conditional  acceptance  threw  upon  him  burden 
some  duties.  It  exposed  him  to  "many  official 
calls,  to  a  heavy  correspondence,  and  to  a  flow  of 


56  WASHINGTON 

company."  It  is  so  he  expresses  himself.  In 
this  conjuncture  he  writes  to  his  attached  friend 
and  faithful  secretary  Mr.  Lear.  Under  date  of 
August- the  second,  1798,  from  Mount  Vernon,  he 
describes  to  him  those  fresh  duties  as  hindrances 
to  putting  his  private  affairs  in  that  order  so  ne 
cessary  before  he  embarked  in  new  scenes ;  it 
being  his  desire,  before  quitting  the  scene  of  hu 
man  action,  to  leave  his  concerns  in  such  a  condi 
tion  as  to  give  as  little  trouble  as  possible  to  those 
who  would  have  the  management  of  them  after 
wards.  Under  this  view  of  his  situation  he  had 
written  to  the  Secretary  of  War  to  be  informed 
whether  he  was  at  liberty  to  appoint  his  secretary, 
who  should  be  entitled  to  the  usual  and  proper 
allowances;  and  concludes  with  asking  Mr.  Lear 
if  he  would  join  him  in  that  capacity  if  the  Se 
cretary  of  War  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Mr. 
Lear  assents. 

This  is  the  last  letter  in  the  series.  I  learn 
from  Mrs.  Lear  that  others  not  in  this  collection, 
bespeaking  a  high  degree  of  intimacy  and  conn- 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  57 

dence,  were  written  to  her  husband  by  the  same 
hand.  This  may  well  be  conceived  when  it  is 
known  that  Mr.  Lear's  connection  with  this  illus 
trious  man  began  prior  to  the  year  '86,  and  con 
tinued  until  his  death  in  '99 ;  that  he  was  at  his 
bedside  when  he  died,  and  drew  up  the  authentic 
narrative,  which  was  verified  by  the  physicians,  of 
his  last  illness,  from  its  commencement  to  the 
closing  scene.  This  was  published  at  that  time 
to  meet  the  anxious  feelings  of  his  mourning 
countrymen,  struck  down  at  first  by  his  death  as 
by  a  shock  that  went  through  every  heart. 

From  one  of  the  letters  there  dropped  out,  as  I 
unfolded  it,  a  slip  in  Mr.  Lear's  handwriting, 
dated  May  the  first,  1791,  containing  the  copy  of 
a  message  to  General  Washington  from  Lord 
Cornwallis,  of  which  Captain  Truxton  had  been 
the  bearer  from  the  East  Indies.  His  lordship, 
whom  Captain  Truxton  had  seen  there,  being 
then  Governor  General  of  India,  "  congratulated 
General  Washington  on  the  establishment  of  a 

8 


58  WASHINGTON 

happy  government  in  his  country,  and  congratu 
lated  the  country  on  the  accession  of  General 
Washington  to  its  Chief  Magistracy."  The  mes 
sage  wished  "  General  Washington  a  long  enjoy 
ment  of  tranquillity  and  happiness,"  adding  that, 
for  himself  (Lord  C.),  he  "  continued  in  troubled 
waters." 

I  have  thus  noticed  succinctly,  perhaps  I  might 
more  appropriately  say  described,  these  letters. 
In  abridging  and  connecting  the  train  of  them, 
Washington's  language  is  used  to  the  extent  that 
will  be  seen.  The  style  is  different  from  that  of 
his  official  productions  and  other  letters  of  his  vo 
luminous  correspondence.  He  naturally  stepped 
into  one  more  familiar  when  writing  to  a  confi 
dential  friend  on  family  matters  relating  to  his 
home  at  Mount  Vernon,  or  as  it  was  to  be  ar 
ranged  in  Philadelphia  while  he  was  President. 
But  the  style  has  the  directness  and  sincerity  of 
all  his  writings.  It  is  apparent  that  the  letters 
are  written  without  reserve.  With  two  or  three 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  59 

exceptions,  no  copies  appear  to  have  been  kept ; 
yet  everything  is  frank  and  straight-forward.  Un 
derstanding  human  nature  thoroughly  under  all  its 
phases,  he  deals  wisely  with  men  in  small  things  as 
in  great ;  but  he  does  no  one  injustice.  When 
others  are  acting  disingenuously  towards  him, 
though  seeing  through  it,  he  is  considerate  and 
forbearing,  not  taking  steps  hastily,  but  ready  to 
make  allowances  where  they  could  be  made.  Dis 
honesty  or  suspicion  of  it  he  never  overlooks.  In 
the  second  letter  he  suspects  his  steward  of  ex 
travagance  in  spending  too  much  for  supplies  of 
the  table  kept  for  his  upper  servants ;  yet  he 
authorizes  Mr.  Lear  to  retain  him,  if,  on  looking 
into  his  accounts,  he  iinds  him  honest ;  intimating 
that  any  successor  to  him  might  act  in  the  same 
way,  and  a  dismissal  might  be  only  a  change 
without  a  benefit.  His  reprobation  of  all  dis 
honesty  is  seen  in  more  than  one  of  the  letters, 
as  well  as  his  restrained  modes  of  dealing  with  it 
whilst  affecting  only  his  own  interests. 

As  regards  the  minutiae  seen  in  the  letters ;  the 


60  WASHINGTON 

details  respecting  his  house,  furniture,  servants, 
carriages,  horses,  postilions,  and  so  on,  these  will 
be  read  with  curiosity  and  interest.  They  sug 
gest  a  new  test  by  which  to  try  Washington,  and 
let  him  be  tried  by  it.  We  have  not  before  had 
such  details  from  himself.  It  is  for  the  first  time 
the  curtain  has  been  so  lifted. 

All  great  men,  the  very  greatest,  Caesar,  Crom 
well,  Napoleon,  Frederick,  Peter  the  Great,  Marl- 
borough,  Alexander,  all  on  the  long  list  of  tower 
ing  names,  have  had  contact  with  small  things. 
No  pinnacle  in  station,  no  supremacy  in  excel 
lence  or  intellect,  can  exempt  man  from  this  por 
tion  of  his  lot.  It  is  a  human  necessity.  Wash 
ington  goes  into  this  sphere  with  a  propriety  and 
seemliness  not  always  observable  in  others  of  his 
high  cast,  but  often  signally  the  reverse.  In  deal 
ing  with  small  things,  he  shows  no  undue  tenacity 
of  opinion ;  no  selfishness  ;  no  petulance  ;  no  mis 
placed  excitements.  He  never  plays  the  petty 
tyrant.  He  does  not  forget  himself;  he  does  not 
forget  others  ;  he  assumes  nothing  from  any  exal- 


IN    DOMESTIC   LIFE.  61 

tation  in  himself,  but  is  reasonable  and  provident 
in  all  his  domestic  and  household  arrangements. 

Shall  we  seek  for  comparisons,  or  rather  con 
trasts  I  With  as  much  of  Washington's  domestic 
portraiture  before  us  as  these  letters  hold  up,  shall 
we  turn  to  look  at  others  I  There  is  no  difficulty, 
but  in  selecting  from  the  vast  heap. 

Frederick  thought  coffee  too  expensive  an  in 
dulgence  for  common  use  in  his  kingdom,  saying 
he  was  himself  reared  on  beer  soup,  which  was 
surely  good  enough  for  peasants  and  common  fel 
lows,  as  he  called  his  people.  He  wrote  direc 
tions  to  his  different  cooks  with  his  own  hand  the 
better  to  pamper  his  appetite  with  every  variety 
of  the  dishes  and  sauces  he  liked  best.  He  stinted 
Voltaire  in  sugar  wThile  a  guest  in  his  palace,  or 
gave  it  to  him  cheap  and  bad.  He  praised  him 
face  to  face,  and  ridiculed  him  behind  his  back. 
Napoleon  played  blind-man's  buff  at  St.  Helena. 
Pie  lost  his  temper  at  his  coronation  on  perceiving 
that  some  of  the  princesses  of  his  family  who  were 
to  act  as  trainbearers  were  not  in  their  right 


62  WASHINGTON 

places.  Caesar  was  versed  in  all  the  ceremonials 
of  State.  It  was  said  that  he  would  even  have 
been  a  perfect  Roman  gentleman  but  for  a  habit 
of  putting  one  of  his  fingers  in  his  hair.  Yet 
such  a  master  of  forms  gave  grave  offence  to  the 
Roman  Senate  by  not  rising  when  they  intended 
him  a  compliment ;  so  unwise  was  he  in  small 
things.  Cromwell  in  a  frolic  threw  a  cushion  at 
Ludlow,  who  in  turn  threw  one  at  him.  He  be 
daubed  with  ink  the  face  of  one  of  the  justices, 
who,  with  Cromwell  himself,  had  just  been  con 
demning  Charles  to  the  block.  Peter  the  Great 
travelled  about  with  a  pet  monkey,  which  uncere 
moniously  jumped  upon  the  King  of  England's 
shoulder  when  the  latter  visited  the  Czar  in  Lon 
don.  Some  great  men  have  played  leap-frog ;  some 
practised  this  affectation,  some  that.  The  book  of 
history  records  too  amply  the  child-like  diversions 
among  those  who  have  flourished  on  the  summits 
of  renown.  We  hear  of  none  of  this  in  Washing 
ton  ;  no  idle  whimsies,  no  studied  or  foolish  eccen 
tricities;  none  of  the  buffoonery  of  ripe  years. 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  63 

They  were  not  in  him ;  or  if  they  were,  self- 
discipline  extirpated  them,  as  it  did  the  bad  am 
bition  and  moral  callousness  that  have  disfigured 
too  many  of  the  great  names  of  the  earth,  ancient 
and  modern ;  whilst  his  matchless  purity  and 
deathless  deeds  raise  him  above  them  all.  This 
verdict  is  already  more  than  half  pronounced  by 
the  most  enlightened  and  scrutinizing  portions  of 
mankind,  and  time  is  silently  extending  its  domain 
as  he  is  longer  tried  by  the  parallels  of  history, 
and  by  the  philosophy  of  greatness  itself. 

Before  his  fame,  steadily  ascending  from  its 
adamantine  foundation,  gave  signs  that  it  was  to 
encircle  the  globe,  some  imagined  him  too  pru 
dent.  Some  thought  him  devoid  of  sensibility; 
a  cold,  colossal  mass,  intrenched  in  taciturnity, 
or  enfolded  in  a  mantle  of  dignity.  The  sequel 
disclosed  that  his  complete  mastery  over  passion, 
moving  in  harmony  with  his  other  powers  and 
faculties,  lent  its  essential  aid  towards  his  un 
rivalled  name.  Opinion  and  passion  were  strong 
in  him.  The  latter  existed  in  vehemence ;  but 


64:  WASHINGTON 

he  put  the  curb  upon  it,  turning  it  into  right 
directions,  and  excluding  it  otherwise  from  influ 
ence  upon  his  conduct.  He  stifled  his  dislikes ; 
he  was  silent  under  sneers  and  disparaging  innuen 
does  lest  inopportune  speech  might  work  injury 
to  the  great  cause  confided  to  him.  To  the  suc 
cess  of  that  cause  he  looked  steadily  and  exclu 
sively.  It  absorbed  his  whole  soul,  and  he  deter 
mined  to  concentrate  upon  it  all  his  forbearance 
as  well  as  energy.  The  complicated  dangers 
which  encompassed  it  he  knew,  from  his  posi 
tion,  sooner  and  better  than  others ;  but  he  would 
not  make  them  public,  lest  the  foe  might  hear 
them,  or  others  whose  prepossessions  were  un 
friendly  ;  preferring  that  temporary  odium  should 
rest  upon  himself.  Therefore  his  reserve ;  and  thus 
it  was  that  the  grand  results  of  his  life  came  out 
in  manifold  blessings  to  his  country ;  thus  it  was 
that  some  at  first  distrustful,  and  others  long  dis 
trustful,  of  his  superiority,  came  to  admit  it  in  the 
end.  Be  it  added,  that  his  native  good  sense 
teaching  him  the  value  of  social  restraint,  and  his 


IN   DOMESTIC    LIFE.  65 

knowledge  of  the  world,  its  approved  observances 
in  intercourse,  the  tone  of  the  gentleman  on  its 
best  models  ever  also  graced  his  public  glory. 

An  anecdote  I  derived  from  Colonel  Lear  short 
ly  before  his  death  in  1816,  may  here  be  related, 
showing  the  height  to  which  his  passion  would  rise 
yet  be  controlled.  It  belongs  to  his  domestic  life 
which  I  am  dealing  with,  having  occurred  under 
his  own  roof,  whilst  it  marks  public  feeling  the 
most  intense,  and  points  to  the  moral  of  his  life. 
I  give  it  in  Colonel  Lear's  words  as  nearly  as  I 
can,  having  made  a  note  of  them  at  the  time. 

Towards  the  close  of  a  winter's  day  in  1791, 
an  officer  in  uniform  was  seen  to  dismount  in 
front  of  the  President's  in  Philadelphia,  and, 
giving  the  bridle  to  his  servant,  knock  at  the 
door  of  his  mansion.  Learning  from  the  porter 
that  the  President  was  at  dinner,  he  said  he  was 
on  public  business  and  had  dispatches  for  the  Pre 
sident.  A  servant  was  sent  into  the  dining-room 
to  give  the  information  to  Mr.  Lear,  who  left  the 
table  and  went  into  the  hall  where  the  officer  re- 

9 


66  WASHINGTON 

peated  what  he  had  said.  Mr.  Lear  replied  that, 
as  the  President's  Secretary,  he  would  take  charge 
of  the  dispatches  and  deliver  them  at  the  proper 
time.  The  officer  made  answer  that  he  had  just 
arrived  from  the  western  army,  and  his  orders 
were  to  deliver  them  with  all  promptitude,  and 
to  the  President  in  person ;  but  that  he  would 
wait  his  directions.  Mr.  Lear  returned,  and  in 
a  whisper  imparted  to  the  President  what  had 
passed.  General  Washington  rose  from  the  table, 
and  went  to  the  officer.  He  was  back  in  a  short 
time,  made  a  word  of  apology  for  his  absence,  but 
no  allusion  to  the  cause  of  it.  He  had  company 
that  day.  Everything  went  on  as  usual.  Dinner 
over,  the  gentlemen  passed  to  the  drawing-room 
of  Mrs.  Washington,  which  was  open  in  the  eve- 
ing.  The  General  spoke  courteously  to  every  lady 
in  the  room,  as  was  his  custom.  His  hours  were 
early,  and  by  ten  o'clock  all  the  company  had 
gone.  Mrs.  Washington  and  Mr.  Lear  remained. 
Soon  Mrs.  Washington  left  the  room. 

The  General  now  walked  backward  and  forward 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  67 

slowly  for  some  minutes  without  speaking.  Then 
he  sat  down  on  a  sofa  by  the  fire,  telling  Mr.  Lear 
to  sit  down.  To  this  moment  there  had  been  no 
change  in  his  manner  since  his  interruption  at 
table.  Mr.  Lear  now  perceived  emotion.  This 
rising  in  him,  he  broke  out  suddenly,  "  It's  all  oner 
— St.  Claims  defeated — routed  ; — the  officers  nearly 
all  killed,  the  men  by  wholesale  ;  the  route  complete 
— too  shocking  to  think  of- — and  a  surprise  into  the 
bargain  /" 

He  uttered  all  this  with  great  vehemence. 
Then  he  paused,  got  up  from  the  sofa  and  walked 
about  the  room  several  times,  agitated  but  saying 
nothing.  Near  the  door  he  stopped  short  and 
stood  still  a  few  seconds,  when  his  wrath  became 
terrible. 

"  Yes"  he  burst  forth,  "  HERE  on  this  very  spot, 
I  took  leave  of  him ;  I  wished  him  success  and 
honor  ;  you  have  your  instructions,  I  said,  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  I  had  a  strict  eye  to  them,  and 
will  add  but  one  word — BEWARE  OF  A  SURPRISE.  I 
repeat  it,  BEWARE  OF  A  SURPRISE— you 


68  WASHINGTON 

know  how  the  Indians  fight  us.  He  went  off  with 
that  as  my  last  solemn  warning  thrown  into  his  ears. 
And  yet !!  to  suffer  that  army  to  be  cut  to  pieces, 
hacttd,  butchered,  tomahawk?  d,  by  a  surprise — the 
very  thing  I  guarded  him  against ! !  O  God,  O 
God,  he's  worse  than  a  murderer !  how  can  he 
answer  it  to  his  country  ; — the  blood  of  the  slain  is 
upon  him — the  curse  of  widows  and  orphans — the 
curse  of  Heaven  /" 

This  torrent  came  out  in  tones  appalling. 
His  very  frame  shook.  It  was  awful,  said  Mr. 
Lear.  More  than  once  he  threw  his  hands  up 
as  he  hurled  imprecations  upon  St.  Clair.  Mr. 
Lear  remained  speechless;  awed  into  breathless 
silence. 

The  roused  Chief  sat  down  on  the  sofa  once 
more.  He  seemed  conscious  of  his  passion,  and 
uncomfortable.  He  was  silent.  His  warmth  be 
ginning  to  subside,  he  at  length  said  in  an  altered 
voice  :  "  This  must  not  go  beyond  this  room"  An 
other  pause  followed — a  longer  one — when  he  said 
in  a  tone  quite  low,  "  General  St.  Clair  shall  have 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  69 

justice  ;  I  looked  hastily  through  the  dispatches,  saw 
the  whole  disaster  but  not  all  the  particulars  ;  I  will 
receive  him  without  displeasure ;  I  will  hear  him 
without  prejudice  ;  he  shall  have  full  justice" 

He  was  now,  said  Mr.  Lear,  perfectly  calm. 
Half  an  hour  had  gone  by.  The  storm  was  over; 
and  no  sign  of  it  was  afterwards  seen  in  his  con 
duct  or  heard  in  his  conversation.  The  result  is 
known.  The  whole  case  was  investigated  by 
Congress.  St.  Clair  was  exculpated  and  regained 
the  confidence  Washington  had  in  him  when  ap 
pointing  him  to  that  command.  He  had  put 
himself  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight  and  escaped 
unhurt,  though  so  ill  as  to  be  carried  on  a  litter, 
and  unable  to  mount  his  horse  without  help. 

A  passage  from  one  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  letters 
which  the  historian  Sparks  records,  may  here  be 
given,  as  its  spirit  covers  the  private  as  well  as 
public  life  of  Washington.  Mr.  Jefferson  with 
drew  his  services  as  Secretary  of  State  from  the 
administration  of  Washington  towards  the  close 
of  his  first  term  in  the  Presidency.  His  retire- 


70  WASHINGTON 

ment  from  that  post  took  place  when  party  spirit 
was  violent  and  bitter  in  the  extreme ;  never  was 
it  more  so  in  the  annals  of  our  country ;  and  it 
was  known  that  he  had  differed  from  Washington 
on  political  questions  of  the  greatest  importance. 
Nevertheless,  writing  of  him  at  a  later  period  Mr. 
Jefferson  says :  "  His  integrity  was  most  pure ;  his 
justice  the  most  inflexible  I  have  ever  known ;  no 
motives  of  interest  or  consanguinity,  of  friendship 
or  hatred,  being  able  to  bias  his  decision.  He 
was,  indeed,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  a  wise,  a 
good,  and  a  great  man." 

I  return  to  his  letters  to  Mr.  Lear.  In  superin 
tending  his  domestic  affairs,  these  letters  exhibit 
him  as  the  head  of  a  well-ordered  family,  himself 
the  regulator  of  it  all  under  maxims  that  best 
conduce  to  order  because  not  too  rigid.  We  see 
that  he  was  truly  hospitable ;  kind ;  devoted  to  his 
kindred  whom  he  gathers  around  him,  interesting 
himself  in  their  education  and  welfare ;  cheering 
them  with  a  welcome  at  Mount  Vernon,  and 
soothing  them  in  sickness  and  sorrow.  The  kin- 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  71 

r 

dred  of  Mrs.  Washington  alike  share  his  solici 
tudes,  paternal  care,  and  constant  kindness.  All 
this  is  discernible  from  the  facts  that  drop  out 
in  these  letters.  They  point  to  a  heart  affection 
ately  alive  to  the  best  social  and  family  feelings. 
We  see  his  attention  to  the  comfort  of  his  ser 
vants,  slaves,  and  others.  His  government  of 
them,  upper  and  subordinate,  appears  to  have 
been  perfect  by  his  union  of  discipline  with  libe 
rality.  He  knew  that  his  postilions,  if  they  slept 
over  the  stable,  would  carry  lights  there  whether 
he  forbade  it  or  not,  for  they  would  do  it  when  he 
knew  nothing  about  it  and  not  tell  on  each  other. 
He  therefore  allowed  no  sleeping  there  at  all. 

I  could  not  avoid  remarking,  as  characteristic 
throughout  the  whole  of  this  correspondence,  that 
there  is  never  any  complaining  of  his  labors. 
Letter-writing  alone  would  have  been  a  heavy 
labor  to  him  but  for  his  system  and  industry. 
Promptitude  in  using  his  pen  there  must  neces 
sarily  have  been,  or  he  could  not  have  written  so 
much.  The  history  of  the  times  will  show  that 


72  WASHINGTON 

% 

when  lie  wrote  these  letters  he  was  simultaneously 
writing  others  on  public  business,  which,  as  the 
world  knows,  he  never  neglected  in  any  jot  or 
tittle  no  matter  what  else  he  might  be  doing. 
The  domestic  letters  must  therefore  have  been 
struck  off  with  great  facility.  Let  us  call  to 
mind  also  the  more  than  two  hundred  volumes  of 
folio  manuscript  of  his  public  correspondence 
which  Congress  purchased,  and  then  remember 
that  the  sum  of  all  he  wrote  is  as  nothing  to  what 
he  did  in  his  long  career  of  activity  in  his  coun 
try's  service,  military  and  civil. 

Next  I  remark,  as  a  new  corroboration  of  the 
modesty  ever  so  prominent  in  him,  that  not  once 
throughout  the  whole  of  this  correspondence  does 
he  make  any,  the  slightest,  allusion  to  himself  in 
connection  with  the  Revolutionary  War,  compara 
tively  recent  as  it  then  was.  Besides  that  the 
general  tenor  of  the  correspondence  might  have 
supplied  occasions  for  such  allusions,  special  op 
portunities  were  at  hand  while  skirting  the  battle 
grounds  and  other  localities  of  his  military  opera- 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  73 

tions  in  the  war,  even  in  his  journeys  between 
Mount  Vernon  and  Philadelphia;  yet  they  are 
never  once  made.  The  casual  mention  of  his 
"Old  Sergeant  Cornelius"  whom  he  happened  to 
want  as  a  workman  about  his  grounds  at  Mount 
Vernon,  is  the  sole  reference  that  could  wake  up 
the  mind  to  his  having  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  Revolution.  He  had  helped  to  pave  the  way 
for  that  great  event  by  the  influence  of  his  high 
character  thrown  into  the  scale  when  the  early 
questions  of  resistance  or  submission  were  in  agi 
tation;  he  had  helped  it  on  by  his  attachment  to 
constitutional  liberty  at  that  epoch  though  his  for 
tune  was  at  stake,  and  friendships  among  the  high 
born  and  cultivated  from  the  parent  State  then 
among  his  associates  in  Virginia — could  a  bosom 
like  his  have  been  swayed  by  such  thoughts ;  he 
had  helped  it  on  by  the  special  weight  of  name  he 
had  won  in  arms  fighting  side  by  side  with  the 
proud  generals  and  troops  of  Britain  confident  of 
victory,  but  saved  from  annihilation  by  his  inborn 

fearlessness  and   superiority,  when  death  was  all 

10 


74  WASHINGTON 

around  him  and  dismay  everywhere  in  Braddock's 
disastrous  fight — their  silent  homage  crowning  the 
head  of  their  deliverer;  his  triumphant  sword  at 
York  town  put  the  crowning  hand  to  the  immortal 
work — the  work  that  founded  this  great  nation ; 
yet  we  could  never  infer  from  a  word  or  hint  in 
the  course  of  these  letters,  from  first  to  last,  that 
he  had  anything  to  do  with  the  work,  except  as 
the  name  of  "  Sergeant  Cornelius"  incidentally  falls 
from  his  pen  with  only  a  rural  object.  What 
a  lesson!  Some  extol  themselves  openly.  Some 
do  it  under  cover  of  self-humiliation,  called  by  a 
French  writer  the  pomp  of  modesty.  Washing 
ton  is  simply  silent;  he  will  slide  into  no  allu 
sions  to  the  great  and  glorious  work  of  his  life 
in  the  midst  of  temptations  to  it. 

Finally:  the  charm  of  these  letters  is  in  their 
being  so  familiar,  so  out  of  the  sphere  of  his  cor 
respondence  generally,  and  therefore  holding  him 
up  in  lights  that  seem  new.  Mankind,  long  fami 
liar  with  the  external  attributes  and  grandeur  of 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  75 

his  character,  looking  up  to  his  vast  fame  as  hero 
and  statesman  uncertain  which  predominates, 
have  known  less  of  him  at  home  with  his  family, 
his  relations  and  his  friends.  The  inner  parts 
of  his  character,  the  kindlier  impulses  of  his 
nature,  his  sympathies  with  those  dear  to  him, 
dependent  on  him,  or  looking  to  him  for  the 
solace  of  his  kindness,  seem  to  have  remained  less 
publicly  known.  Mr.  Sparks,  in  his  preface  to  his 
"Life  and  Writings,"  remarks  that '"it  must  be 
kept  in  mind  that  much  the  larger  portion  of  his 
life  passed  on  a  conspicuous  public  theatre,  and 
that  no  account  of  it  can  be  written  which  will 
not  assume  essentially  the  air  of  history."  He 
adds,  that  while  in  his  work  "  anecdotes  are  inter 
woven  and  such  incidents  of  a  private  and  per 
sonal  nature  as  are  known,  they  are  more  rare 
than  could  be  desired." 

The  synopsis  of  the  letters  which  I  have  given 
may  perhaps  tend  in  some  small  degree  to  supply 
this  desideratum  in  his  illustrious  life  alongside  of 


76  WASHINGTON 

the  more  copious  anecdotes  and  reminiscences 
supplied  by  the  patriotic  and  filial  devotion  of 
Mr.  Custis.  This  is  my  humble  hope. 

Since  the  foregoing  Letters  were  received  from 
Mrs.  Lear,  she  has  favored  me  with  the  perusal  of 
other  manuscripts  introducing  us  to  the  domestic 
hours  of  General  Washington.  Among  them  is 
a  Diary  kept  by  Mr.  Lear  at  Mount  Vernon  in 
1786,  anterior  therefore  to  the  time  when  Wash 
ington  became  President.  From  this  document  I 
am  permitted  to  copy  a  passage  entire.  It  is 
dated  the  23d  of  October,  '86.  Mr.  Drayton  and 
Mr.  Izard,  gentlemen  of  South  Carolina,  had  been 
spending  the  day  at  Mount  Vernon,  After  din 
ner,  the  company  still  round  the  table,  Washing 
ton  was  led  to  speak  of  Arnold's  treason,  and  Mr. 
Lear  wrote  down  his  account  of  it  in  his  Diary  of 
that  day.  Although  history  has  made  us  familiar 
with  that  whole  transaction  in  its  essential  facts,  to 
hear  it  under  such  circumstances  from  the  lips  of 
Washington,  seems  to  impart  to  it  new  interest. 


IN  DOMESTIC   LIFE.  77 

We  listen  with  revived  curiosity  and  attention 
when  such  a  narrator  speaks.  The  copy  from 
Mr.  Lear's  Diary,  in  which  is  recorded  this  inter 
esting  dinner-table  narrative,  is  in  the  words  fol 
lowing  : — 

"  MOUNT  VERNON, 
Monday,  October  23d,  1786. 
"Mrs.  Washington  went  to  Arlington  with  the 
two  children.  Sent  a  letter  directed  to  Mr.  Sa 
muel  Storer  to  the  post-office  by  Charles,  who 
went  up  to  town  (Alexandria)  with  Master 
Thompson  and  Lawrence  Washington,  who  had 
spent  their  vacation  here.  Mr.  Drayton  and  Mr. 
Izard  here  all  day.  After  dinner  General  Wash 
ington  was,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  led  to 
speak  of  Arnold's  treachery,  when  he  gave  the 
following  account  of  it,  which  I  shall  put  in  his 
own  words,  thus:  'I  confess  I  had  a  good  opinion 
of  Arnold  before  his  treachery  was  brought  to 
light;  had  that  not  been  the  case,  I  should  have 
had  some  reason  to  suspect  him  sooner,  for  when 


78  WASHINGTON 

he  commanded  in  Philadelphia,  the  Marquis  la 
Fayette  brought  accounts  from  France  of  the  arm 
ament  which  was  to  be  sent  to  co-operate  with  us 
in  the  ensuing  campaign.  Soon  after  this  was 
known,  Arnold  pretended  to  have  some  private 
business  to  transact  in  Connecticut,  and  on  his 
way  there  he  called  at  my  quarters;  and  in  the 
course  of  conversation  expressed  a  desire  of  quit 
ting  Philadelphia  and  joining  the  army  the  ensu 
ing  campaign.  I  told  him  that  it  was  probable 
we  should  have  a  very  active  one,  and  that  if  his 
wound  and  state  of  health  would  permit,  I  should 
be  extremely  glad  of  his  services  with  the  army. 
He  replied  that  he  did  not  think  his  wound 
would  permit  him  to  take  a  very  active  part;  but 
still  he  persisted  in  his  desire  of  being  with  the 
army.  He  went  on  to  Connecticut,  and  on  his 
return  called  again  upon  me.  He  renewed  his 
request  of  being  with  me  next  campaign,  and  I 
made  him  the  same  answer  I  had  done  before. 
He  again  repeated  that  he  did  not  think  his 
wound  would  permit  him  to  do  active  duty,  and 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  79 

intimated  a  desire  to  have  the  command  at  West 
Point.  I  told  him  I  did  not  think  that  would 
suit  him,  as  I  should  leave  none  in  the  garrison 
but  invalids,  because  it  would  be  entirely  covered 
by  the  main  army.  The  subject  was  dropt  at 
that  time,  and  he  returned  to  Philadelphia.  It 
then  appeared  somewhat  strange  to  me,  that  a 
man  of  Arnold's  known  activity  and  enterprise, 
should  be  desirous  of  taking  so  inactive  a  part. 
I  however  thought  no  more  of  the  matter.  When 
the  French  troops  arrived  at  Rhode  Island,  I  had 
intelligence  from  New  York  that  General  Clinton 
intended  to  make  an  attack  upon  them  before  they 
could  get  themselves  settled  and  fortified.  In 
consequence  of  that,  I  was  determined  to  attack 
New  York,  which  would  be  left  much  exposed 
by  his  drawing  off  the  British  troops ;  and  accord 
ingly  formed  my  line  of  battle,  and  moved  down 
with  the  whole  army  to  King's  ferry,  which  we 
passed.  Arnold  came  to  camp  at  that  time,  and 
having  no  command,  and  consequently  no  quar 
ters  (all  the  houses  thereabouts  being  occupied  by 


80  WASHINGTON 

the  army),  he  was  obliged  to  seek  lodgings  at  some 
distance  from  the  camp.  While  the  army  was 
crossing  at  King's  ferry,  I  was  going  to  sec  the 
last  detachment  over,  and  met  Arnold,  who  asked 
me  if  I  had  thought  of  anything  for  him.  I  told 
him  that  he  was  to  have  the  command  of  the  light 
troops,  which  was  a  post  of  honor,  and  which  his 
rank  indeed  entitled  him  to.  Upon  this  informa 
tion  his  countenance  changed,  and  he  appeared  to 
be  quite  fallen ;  and  instead  of  thanking  me,  or 
expressing  any  pleasure  at  the  appointment,  never 
opened  his  mouth.  I  desired  him  to  go  on  to  my 
quarters  and  get  something  to  refresh  himself,  and 
I  would  meet  him  there  soon.  He  did  so.  Upon 
his  arrival  there,  he  found  Col.  Tilghman,  whom 
he  took  a-one  side,  and  mentioning  what  I  had 
told  him,  seemed  to  express  great  uneasiness  at 
it — as  his  leg,  he  said,  would  not  permit  him  to 
be  long  on  horse-back ;  and  intimated  a  great  de 
sire  to  have  the  command  at  West  Point.  When 
I  returned  to  my  quarters,  Col.  Tilghman  informed 
me  of  what  had  passed.  I  made  no  reply  to  it — 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  81 

but  his  behavior  struck  me  as  strange  and  unac 
countable.  In  the  course  of  that  night,  however, 
I  received  information  from  New  York  that  Gene 
ral  Clinton  had  altered  his  plan  and  was  debarking 
his  troops.  This  information  obliged  me  likewise 
to  alter  my  disposition  and  return  to  my  former 
station,  where  I  could  better  cover  the  country. 
I  then  determined  to  comply  with  Arnold's  desire, 
and  accordingly  gave  him  the  command  of  the 
garrison  at  West  Point.  Things  remained  in  this 
situation  about  a  fortnight,  when  I  wrote  to  the 
Count  Hochambeau  desiring  to  meet  him  at  some 
intermediate  place  (as  we  could  neither  of  us  be 
long  enough  from  our  respective  commands  to 
visit  the  other),  in  order  to  lay  the  plan  for  the 
siege  of  Yorktown,  and  proposed  Hartford,  where 
I  accordingly  went  and  met  the  Count.  On  my 
return  I  met  the  Chevalier  Luzerne  towards  even 
ing  within  about  15  miles  of  West  Point  (on  his 
way  to  join  the  Count  at  Rhode  Island),  which  I 
intended  to  reach  that  night,  but  he  insisted  upon 

turning  back  with  me  to  the  next  public  house  ; 

11 


82  WASHINGTON 

where,  in  politeness  to  him,  I  could  not  but  stay 
all  night,  determining,  however,  to  get  to  West 
Point  to  breakfast  very  early.  I  sent  off  my  bag 
gage,  and  desired  Colonel  Hamilton  to  go  forward 
and  inform  General  Arnold  that  I  would  break 
fast  with  him.  Soon  after  he  arrived  at  Arnold's 
quarters,  a  letter  was  delivered  to  Arnold  which 
threw  him  into  the  greatest  confusion.  He  told 
Colonel  Hamilton  that  something  required  his  im 
mediate  attendance  at  the  garrison  which  was  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river  to  his  quarters;  and 
immediately  ordered  a  horse,  to  take  him  to  the 
river;  and  the  barge,  which  he  kept  to  cross,  to 
be  ready;  and  desired  Major  Franks,  his  Aid,  to 
inform  me  when  I  should  arrive,  that  he  was  gone 
over  the  river  and  would  return  immediately. 
When  I  got  to  his  quarters  and  did  not  find  him 
there,  I  desired  Major  Franks  to  order  me  some 
breakfast;  and  as  I  intended  to  visit  the  fortifica 
tions  I  would  see  General  Arnold  there.  After  I 
had  breakfasted,  I  went  over  the  river,  and  in 
quiring  for  Arnold,  the  commanding  officer  told 


IN   DOMESTIC   LIFE.  83 

me  that  he  had  not  been  there.  I  likewise  in 
quired  at  the  several  redoubts,  but  no  one  could 
give  me  any  information  where  he  was.  The  im 
propriety  of  his  conduct  when  he  knew  I  was  to 
be  there,  struck  me  very  forcibly,  and  my  mind 
misgave  me;  but  I  had  not  the  least  idea  of  the 
real  cause.  When  I  returned  to  Arnold's  quarters 
about  two  hours  after,  and  told  Colonel  Hamilton 
that  I  had  not  seen  him,  he  gave  me  a  packet 
which  had  just  arrived  for  me  from  Col.  Jemmi- 
son,  which  immediately  brought  the  matter  to 
light.  I  ordered  Colonel  Hamilton  to  mount  his 
horse  and  proceed  with  the  greatest  despatch  to  a 
post  on  the  river  about  eight  miles  below,  in  order 
to  stop  the  barge  if  she  had  not  passed;  but  it 
was  too  late.  It  seems  that  the  letter  which  Ar 
nold  received  which  threw  him  in  such  confusion 
was  from  Col.  Jemmison,  informing  him  that  An 
dre  was  taken  and  that  the  papers  found  upon 
him  were  in  his  possession.  Col.  Jemmison, 
when  Andre  was  taken  with  these  papers,  could 
not  believe  that  Arnold  was  a  traitor,  but  rather 


84:  WASHINGTON 

thought  it  was  an  imposition  of  the  British  in 
order  to  destroy  our  confidence  in  Arnold.  He, 
however,  immediately  on  their  being  taken,  de 
spatched  an  express  after  me,  ordering  him  to  ride 
night  and  day  till  he  came  up  with  me.  The  ex 
press  went  the  lower  road,  which  was  the  road  by 
which  I  had  gone  to  Connecticut,  expecting  that 
I  would  return  by  the  same  route,  and  that  he 
would  meet  me ;  but  before  he  had  proceeded  far, 
he  was  informed  that  I  was  returning  by  the  up 
per  road.  He  then  cut  across  the  country  and 
followed  in  my  track  till  I  arrived  at  West  Point. 
He  arrived  about  two  hours  after,  and  brought  the 
above  packet.  When  Arnold  got  down  to  the 
barge,  he  ordered  his  men,  who  were  very  clever 
fellows  and  some  of  the  better  sort  of  soldiery,  to 
proceed  immediately  on  board  the  Vulture  sloop 
of  war,  as  a  flag,  which  was  lying  down  the  river  ; 
saying  that  they  must  be  very  expeditious,  as  he 
must  return  in  a  short  time  to  meet  me,  and  pro 
mised  them  two  gallons  of  rum  if  they  would  exert 
themselves.  They  did,  accordingly;  but  when 


IN    DOMESTIC  LIFE.  85 

% 

they  got  on  board  the  Vulture,  instead  of  their 
two  gallons  of  rum,  he  ordered  the  coxswain  to 
be  called  down  into  the  cabin  and  informed  him 
that  he  and  the  men  must  consider  themselves  as 
prisoners.  The  coxswain  was  very  much  aston 
ished,  and  told  him  that  they  came  on  board  under 
the  sanction  of  a  flag.  He  answered  that  that 
was  nothing  to  the  purpose ;  they  were  prisoners. 
But  the  Captain  of  the  Vulture  had  more  gene 
rosity  than  this  pitiful  scoundrel,  and  told  the 
coxswain  that  he  would  take  his  parole  for  going 
on  shore  to  get  clothes,  and  whatever  else  was 
wanted  for  himself  and  his  companions.  He  ac 
cordingly  came,  got  his  clothes  and  returned  on 
board.  When  they  got  to  New  York,  General 
Clinton,  ashamed  of  so  low  and  mean  an  action, 
set  them  all  at  liberty." 

This  closes  the  account.  It  terminates  also  the 
use  I  have  been  permitted,  through  the  valued 
friendship  of  Mrs.  Lear,  to  make  of  these  manu 
scripts. 

R.  E. 


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